Hope
by Leafninja-Kiba
Summary: How do you hold on to something when the reasons you were holding on to begin to change. KibaShika.
1. Mornings

Yo guys, this is something I've been meaning to try for a long time and lately things have been taking a strange turn so I finally decided to actually write something. I hope you enjoy it, who knows, might just get interesting. Review if you've got a spare minute, always appreciated.

All characters included therein belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**--**

It was shaping up to be a good day in the Inuzuka's mind, sun was shining, things were going his way, and as he strolled down the relatively quiet main street of Konoha he realized that he was genuinely happy, despite the same early morning air that would normally have him want to roll over in his bed and throw pillows at the window. He cupped his hands behind his head, smirked, and as if on cue got a bark from the white ball of fur trotting alongside him.

"What do you think Akamaru?" The dog stared puzzled up at him, not catching on to his master's rhetoric too well this morning, and settled on a puzzled whine as a response.

"Huh? I mean about today, you remember don-…" cutting himself off, the look he was getting back as he talked to his dog clearly signalled in any language that Akamaru had no idea where he was going with this. Then again, from the confused looks of the few passersby who were mildly fascinated with the conversation between the two, you'd almost think there was a general air of confusion running through the streets.

Kiba paused, his walking along with his words, eliciting another whine from Akamaru as they stopped mid-step in the middle of the growing morning rush of villagers. "I figured out the schedule, just think…" Kiba said, talking with his hands as a grin slipped onto his face "…a whole week, no missions, no responsibility, just time off to have fun and relax."

Akamaru raised an eyebrow as his owner's grin somehow managed to get even larger; the dog wondered about Kiba sometimes, when he was set on something, he was really set on something, and then at the last minute he could always end up surprising him. This discussion on the other hand came as no surprise; they'd been saving their mission fees, pulling extra ranks and generally wearing on not only their teammate's nerves, but everyone else who was unlucky enough to get caught up in the whirlwind that was the Inuzuka brothers when they were focused.

"Shika's going to love it."

There it was, the dog's ears flopping almost comically against the side of his head as he watched the once again invigorated Kiba march back onwards with, dare he say it, a spring in his step, looking like he was only holding his excitement back by the skin of his nails. He'd known the boy for years and he had rarely seen him this perky this early even on his best of days, at least this early in the morning; the sun was still coming up for goodness sakes.

Shikamaru, the genius heir of the Nara clan, who had all too quickly become a large part of their day to day routine and another thing the dog didn't know what to make of. He trotted back up to Kiba again and fell into step beside him, looking up at the fanged smirk still stuck along his face as he undoubtedly lost himself in thought.

It'd come as a surprise to everyone involved when the two had started seeing each other, mostly to the boys themselves. It wasn't overly romantic, nothing planned or really given much thought, it had just happened, and then happened again, and again, and again, until finally the two of them just clued in and tried to work it out from there.

By all definitions they were a strange couple, if you could even call them a couple, neither really suitable for the other if you went on logic alone; the fact that logic was one of the things completely absent from the whole affair quickly rendered this a moot point in the end.

The canine-nin ran on instinct, he'd quickly adapted to the situation when he realised what his body and mind were telling him, his clan always able to learn new tricks after all. The other half of the pair had had a similar reaction in that it was quick; no one could guess however as to why Shikamaru had fallen for the loud, rough natured dog boy. There were theories mind you, perhaps the child prodigy had wanted something unpredictable, or maybe he liked the challenge that Kiba presented to his usual troublesome routine. Whatever the case was, they never needed to say a thing to know they both cared deeply for one another and as sure as you would expect, love soon followed.

Time and again they proved they were willing to go the distance for each other, a much more notable feat for the legendarily lazy Nara obviously and one of the things that made the Inuzuka smile most when he thought about it. They lived different lives, worked on different timeframes, the whole reason they were up so early was it was one of the few times they could be together. The both of them met in the middle whenever they could though and that was enough to always keep things going even when times were tough.

Barking out a laugh, Kiba scanned the area with as the sort of enthusiasm the great sannin Jiraiya would if he managed to sneak his way into the women's hot springs. "He's late as always."

Snorting an overly dog-like huff from his nostrils, Kiba pocketed his hands and scuffed his heel into the dirt below as he did the one thing he could never seem to get used to; waiting. His dog parked himself alongside and played the part of the loyal wingman, in dog terms that meant wagging his tail.

"Heh, thanks buddy."

They smiled at one another for a moment before a scent rather prominently hit the air like a brick wall on legs, two heads shooting to meet its direction, or in this case, his direction. A loud outburst suddenly rocked the air as the young Inuzuka practically bellowed the Nara's name, waving his arms like he was unsure if the thunderous call would be enough.

He looked up in as his name was yelled at him with more force than a boulder, hands stuffed in his pockets, brows knitted together and with a general look of not even wanting to be conscious, one Shikamaru Nara sighed and continued walking casually down the street towards the pair. It hadn't clicked to either of them yet, but on reflection, his stance should have been the first clues.

Unfortunately, the first clues would come just those few seconds too late.


	2. The Most Important Meal of the Day

Chapter two, I'll try make this one longer, and the next longer still. The first chapter I wrote late at night and when I started getting sleepy I just called it there. For a little back-story, this happens to be on something of an ongoing muse, so yeah; even I don't know what'll happen! Heh, I'll try my best though! Thanks for reading!

All characters included therein belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**--**

"Shikaaaaaaa, " stretching out the syllable for as long as he possibly could, holding a silly face the whole time, the Nara couldn't help but chuckle as he stopped in front of the brunette.

Kiba Inuzuka, he still had trouble wrapping his head around this, around them. His mantra was to usually avoid troublesome things and now he was spending most of his spare time associating with one of the most troublesome things around. He'd always just imagined a much simpler life, an average wife with some average kids, an average job where he didn't have to stress over everything, and time where he could just lie back and watch the clouds without having to deal with unexpected surprises or difficult decisions.

Then there was Kiba.

Quickly placing his finger over the dog boy's lips to shut him up, he took a short look around at the rapidly filling streets, spotted a back alley devoid of the people which were seemingly multiplying out here in the open by the minute, and motioned towards it.

The Nara was far more cautious about things. He knew just how many ways information could spread in a tight-knit village like this, and with Kiba there grinning with affectionate pet names it wouldn't take much for someone to put two and two together.

"You're so troublesome," droning out his catchphrase with a sigh as he pushed Kiba up against the wall of the secluded alley, "what did I say about that? You're going to get us-…"

He noticed he still had his finger over Kiba's lips, worse still the canine-nin had his eyes both focused down on it, giving him this adorably confused, cross-eyed expression. It took one whine as puppy dog eyes lifted up to meet the Nara's before he forgot completely what he was trying to say. No, the only thing that came to mind was pushing him further into that wall, roughly jerking a hand along the hem of the Inuzuka's jacket and practically biting down on his upper lip.

He wasn't sure if it was the sudden display of dominance or the fact he'd caught his companion completely off guard but he managed to maintain control. It was simple, easy, he pushed harder up against him, his hand slipping past fabric and digging his nails into the brunette's side. There wasn't a fight or a reason, gasping as Kiba gripped his shirt and growled, it was just a single moment where neither of them was thinking, a clumsy display of force and fangs.

They separated with a soft trail of saliva between them. Kiba broke it with a cocky smirk, while the Nara on the other hand merely rolled his eyes, taking a step back and giving the other boy his space.

"Shika…" It made him shudder just hearing the word; there was always that rough edge to Kiba's voice. It still didn't mean he didn't know what was coming next. All that trouble keeping out of sight just to do that? He felt like smacking himself upside the head. "…barbecue chips? You've been sharing with Chouji again."

Of course, there's that too.

"Kiba… I you, t'ch… you're,"

"Troublesome." Kiba finished for him, flashing another grin. "So I've heard."

He hated when he did that. How was it that Kiba seemed to read him so well while every time he, the genius of the pair, couldn't predict the others actions short of a damn guidebook. Every time he just defied logic completely.

"How are you meant to understand something like that?" He muttered to himself, momentarily forgetting the Inuzuka clan's freakish hearing.

"By kissing it, apparently," chiming in to Shika's thoughts with a smug little tilt of his head, "If you wanted that we should have just met at my place, at least it's got a door." Akamaru looked up at the two, he still didn't get what they were up to, but he gave his master an encouraging bark to help him drive the point home, earning him a soft pat on the head as Kiba crouched down beside him.

The Nara winced, rubbed a finger to his temple and brushed the whole thing off with a frustrated twitch of his eye. "We're going to my place today, I've got some time off and it's been a while. It's been one troublesome mission after another, I'm sick of forests, I'm sick of schedules, I'm sick of-"

"Barbecue chips?"

Biting his tongue, he gave Kiba a warning look for interrupting him for the umpteenth time. He was right though. "…I was going to go cloud watching, but all I can think of these days,"

His eyes trailed back down to Kiba again, noticing yet another in a long line of playful grins adoring his face; they both knew what had his attention, and Kiba was milking that for all it was worth. What could he do though? That look was just infectious. He couldn't help but smile back, sharing one of those moments where he wondered how he got along without him; at least for a moment anyway.

"To make things simple Kibs," one of the many pet names he'd found he was using himself without even realising it, "you're coming with me. You can… ahh," dragging his tongue along the roof of his mouth, trying to end on a confident note. "You can spend the night."

Curious eyes quickly found their way up and down the chunnin, watching as his brow quirked and that little falter in his voice lead to another shaky smirk on the Nara's part. As demanding as he was trying to sound, there was that underlying want just under the surface, that plea. That side of Shika that was always there behind the general bored attitude, it always came out when they were together.

"I can spend the night?" Repeating him as he slowly rose back up to his full height. There was a slight hint of annoyance in Shika's eyes– maybe because of the unnecessary confirmation, or maybe it was that extra inch Kiba had on him that made him have to tilt his head up slightly –either way, he nodded a yes.

He smirked. "Will you make me breakfast?"

That was as far as the Inuzuka got to push his luck that morning before being barged out back on to the street by teed off Shikamaru to walk their way back to the Nara estate together. Akamaru shook his head again in confusion, but followed behind all the same.

'T'ch, humans.'

--

"Another bowl!" Soon came the chirpy reply, patting his stomach down as he stacked the last one on the others, the lot of them as empty as his wallet was quickly becoming.

"You know Naruto, Ichiraku's only has so much. You're going to eat us dry at this rate." Never the less, the old man handed over yet another bowl of fresh miso ramen to the stores best customer, watching as yet again he dug into it like it was his first. His daughter had always reminded him that the blonde was a growing boy; if that was true, with the amount he ate, he should have towered over his friends by now. Instead the short, hyperactive ninja-to-be just kept on packing them down like a bottomless pit.

Having his face dug into the bowl, he didn't even notice as the faithful owner smiled at him with a gentle laugh before retreating back to the store room to try and restock before yet another round was ordered.

Naruto Uzumaki, he'd be Hokage one day, he was the brightest spark in all of Konoha. I mean, sure, he wasn't the best fighter, or the strongest, or the smartest, or… well, no, of course he was! He could shine with the best of em', but even the best needed breakfast, so far seven servings and counting.

It was just as he was finishing up that seventh bowl, slurping down the last of the soup and falling back in his seat with a relaxed sigh that something in the street caught his attention. Not an overly unusual sight mind, but when you were Naruto Uzumaki, there was always a story behind everything.

Then why oh why were Kiba, his dog, and Shikamaru all walking together down the street?

There wasn't any mission's today, he'd checked to the point Granny Tsunade had hurled him out of her office, and the looks on their faces said they were heading somewhere, it wasn't just coincidence.

"Rghh…" sticking his tongue out and folding his arms in a huff. It was obvious, when he gave it some thought. They were probably taking a vacation or something, without inviting him! Why were those two so chummy-chummy all of a sudden?

"…those two," leaning back up and slumping back over the counter, keeping a keen eye on the lot of them as they casually strolled by, watching Akamaru jump around the pair excitedly to Kiba's clear amusement. He was good enough friends with both of them, so why wouldn't they invite him along on their stupid vacation? He could use a vacation! All that perverted hermit ever did was gamble long enough to impress the ladies and then hang around bath-houses; some vacation that is! Those two were probably planning something good, something fun, they were probably…

"Hn." Stopped in his tracks. "What… would they be doing? Shikamaru likes watching clouds and sleeping. Kiba likes running around and… and, uh… playing fetch!" He snickered, quickly getting serious again, "What could they possibly be doing together…"

Playing with his chopsticks almost lost in thought– defiantly an odd look for the fox –he narrowed his eyes on the pair for a second longer, trying to figure out their secret. Maybe he could work it out and get to wherever they were going before them; that'd show em'!

Then he saw it.

His eyes went wide. It was only for a brief second, but he defiantly saw it. If you'd have blinked you'd have missed it.

Kiba's hand clasped itself around Shikamaru's, it was there for an instant before the other shook it off and scolded him for it, the pair now walking out of sight as the Nara lectured a laughing Inuzuka.

No way.

Little did he realise, but it was about this same moment that gravity decided to make its presence known, and since the blonde was now leaning out of his seat as far as he could to try and catch a further glimpse, he was swiftly reminded to stay seated as he tumbled head first into the ground around the same time the owner came back with a fresh new stock of ramen.

"Good news, I fou-…" He blinked.

"Naruto," slowly leaning over the counter to get a better view, "what're you doing on the ground?"

A perfectly reasonable question, answered only by the recipients shocked face turning to meet the owners, then back at the street, then the owner again. His cheek twitched, whiskers jumping as his jaw hung slack; his mind was completely blank.

No freakin' way.


	3. Pillow Talk

Hey there again everyone, welcome to the third chapter, this is actually going pretty well eh? Strangely enough it's these little messages that're the hardest thing for me to write, so this time I'll instead give some quick notes. I'm actually a big fan of 'KibaNaru' but that's not happening in this story, but he'll defiantly play a main character. There'll be some lemon, lime and all that other citrus'y stuff I know you all love in here but uh… you'll just have to see how it plays out. What else? Oh yeah, we're again in Shika's view this chapter, at least, as much in his view as this story gets; there's also a flashback, nothing like a good flashback.

Any comments, suggestions, shout-outs leave a review and I'll promise you I'll read it, hell, it might even give me an easier time figuring what to write in these messages. Anyway, main thing, enjoy!

All characters included therein belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**--**

"Poke."

This was getting troublesome fast.

After walking back half way across the village, after Kiba had finally stopped trying to throw his arm round him, hold hands, or growl in that… way… the Nara had actually managed to get them home. He unlocked the front gate and the party strolled on through, up the short path to the main house, finally free of onlookers.

His clan's estate wasn't the largest in the village by any means, they had a good sized residence, some buildings sprawled out, a pleasantly quiet garden, all you'd expect from Nara design. This being said, their land was a whole other story. They owned a good chunk of one of the neighbouring forests, unsurprisingly packed with the deer his family had been looking after for generations. He'd seen it as a bother once, having to wake early to help his father tend to them, roaming that large expanse of thick, scenic greenery, however he'd come to appreciate it after he'd started seeing Kiba. It gave them all manner of places to be alone, and the other boy always seemed to be happiest out in the open.

It was a safe place, out of the way, the air itself seemed calmed as it rested inside their boundaries. That's probably what he'd come to like most about it; the secrecy. No one would ever know, here, with the home field advantage, it was that much easier to maintain control of things.

Naturally though, as with everything, Kiba was the wildcard.

The Inuzuka seemed to delight in messing with his status quo. They were hanging out in a tree enjoying the sun? Kiba would want to hang out in his bedroom. He managed to clean his family out the house so they could be there? Kiba wanted to go out to do something 'fun'. He managed to get them out on the town without it looking completely obvious it was a date? Kiba wanted to go make out in a tree.

Impossible.

The thought ended up giving the chunnin a headache as he turned his key in the door and let the canine-nin strut in, kick off his shoes, and swipe an unguarded glass of juice from the counter like he owned the place. Shikamaru sighed, bringing a finger up to rub his temple for what he was sure wouldn't be the last time that morning.

"Poke."

After pouring himself another glass of juice, having his first one kidnapped moments ago, the young Nara finally got a chance to catch his breath as he leaned back on the countertop, letting his head fall back pleasantly; finally peace and quiet. He stretched his limbs, still a little stiff from the early hour and took a sip of his juice, making a few key observations as he looked around.

There was a grey, furry jacket laid haphazardly across the back of his sofa and the sound of footsteps padding around upstairs. Kiba had obviously made a bee-line for his bedroom. His dog on the other hand seemed to be perfectly pleased venturing off on his own, sniffing around the place, trying to find somewhere comfy to take a nap. It made him chuckle; Akamaru had been here countless times and sti-…

"Poke."

"_Would you cut that out!_" He finally snapped, defiantly a rare thing for the lazy ninja.

Getting nothing but a wolfish grin from his attacker, the genius closed his eyes and weighed the odds on wether sitting up to give Kiba a stern look would actually stop him from incessantly prodding his finger into the sole of the his bare, defenceless foot.

"Poke."

Probably not.

He rolled his eyes and accepted his fate, letting his head sink further down into his pillow to the point where he had to strain his eyes to even catch a glimpse of the bemused Inuzuka laying tops to tails beside him, watching the Nara's foot twitch each time with avid curiosity.

There was a short silence, followed by what sounded like a sniff…

"y'know, your feet still smell."

…and with that, Kiba had won again, a stupid smile spreading like wildfire across the chunnin's face.

--

_The day had been kind so far; it'd granted warm afternoon, no missions, no teammates no upcoming chunnin exams to be thinking about, in fact, no interruptions of any kind. It had given Shikamaru time to do his favourite thing, absolutely nothing. It would just be him, a grassy hill, and if his luck held, some clouds._

_Hands behind his head as he walked, leisurely slow over the gentle slope of his favourite hill, he smirked as he caught sight of his usual spot. The grass was lush, out in the open but just close enough to nearby tree's to catch some shade, a spectacular view of the village below, but even better, a perfect view of the tranquil skies above._

"_Yahoo! Nice catch, Akamaru!" _

_Shikamaru's eyes raced to the source of the call, already cursing the name under his breath. It just had to be him, didn't it? So much for luck._

"_Try this one!" Kiba yelled as he hurled the slobbery stick nearly twice as far this time, a white blur racing to off intercept it. They were playing fetch. Of all the hills, they were playing fetch on this one…_

"_Kiba." Flat-toning the name, catching the feral boys attention away from the excitement, only for an even more excitable look to quickly rush over him as their eyes met._

"_Shikaaaaaaa," stretching the syllable way beyond its limits as always, causing the frustrated Nara to clasp the bridge of his nose as the brunette ran up to meet him, followed soon after by Akamaru who'd managed to retrieve the stick before it'd even made a landing._

"_Perfect timing, we need a second guy on that hill over there so-" _

"_Hold it." Cutting him off before this could get any further. "I'm here to relax, not throw sticks."_

_There was a pause and the dumbstruck look Shikamaru was getting back made him question if he'd just said that in a different language or something. What did he have to do to get the message across to Kiba, bark it?_

_Shaking his head, falling back onto his butt and stretching out on the grass, peeling off his sandals and closing his eyes as he laid back head rested in his hands; he wasn't in the mood to keep this conversation going any longer than it had to. "Keep it down, alright?" _

_Truth be told, one of the reasons he'd come here today was to try and clear his mind, something Shikamaru had to do on a regular basis. This time however it wasn't because it was filled with unnecessary information, plans of attack, lists of chores or general cluttered thoughts. There was in fact only one thought he was trying to free himself from and that was a rather sudden and embarrassing realization that had occurred when he saw the same Inuzuka boy here with him now walking with his back turned to him; needless to say, his eyes had drifted somewhere inappropriate and another troublesome situation was born._

"_I'll join you."_

_So the last thing he needed right now was to be anywhere near Kiba and his annoyingly cute backsi-… wait, what?_

_Before he could even raise an objection Kiba had rested himself down beside him, flat on his back and laying in the opposite direction. He couldn't help but notice that they were very close as well, barely an inch between them.  
_

_Fantastic._

_The Nara should have known things were going to good to be true. He scrunched his eyes shut tighter; what the hell was he going to do? Asking Kiba to leave at this point would just raise even more troublesome questions, and the two Inuzuka's he'd now been stuck with looked just too content to move themselves; the former's chest gently rising and falling as he enjoyed his break, and the latter off barking and chasing butterflies along this hilltops. _

_So Shikamaru did the only thing he could. He swallowed his breath, took a long new one in, and perked his eyes open lazily, wondering if clouds had to deal with such troublesome things as thinking perverted thoughts about their friends, or to be precise, their obnoxiously male friends._

_Then it happened, the thing that'd end up changing his life forever._

_There was a grunt, breaking the silence between them. Kiba's nostrils flared, jerking his head over to side to be met with the sight of Shikamaru's bare feet, the source of the scent that was now wreaking havoc with his overdeveloped senses. _

"_Your feet smell."_

_Shikamaru blinked._

"_What?" A smart comeback from the boy with the two-hundred plus IQ._

_The canine-nin shifted, propping himself up on an elbow and without the slightest care for things like personal space, took a hold of one of Shika's ankles, giving it a squeeze as he repeated himself, "Your feet, they reek. Smells like…" trying to find the words to describe it to a non-Inuzuka, "…smells, like… you…but stronger,"_

_The hell did that even mean? Somehow though, with this new line of discussion and mostly the fact Kiba now had had a hold of him, the Nara found he couldn't even budge, or speak... or think…_

_Not that he needed to, as it so happened._

"_I like it." Kiba surmised, growling roughly._

_It was the last thing Shika heard, summoning the courage to prop up enough to witness as Kiba latched his lips around his big toe and started to feverishly suck it, nibbling the tip at about the same time it's owners startled gasp switched to a throaty moan. It just got worse from there on, the two totally caught in the heat of the moment until they woke up later that evening in each other's arms, and laying beside a troublesome pile of clothes that would now need washing._

_--_

The two smiled at each other, obviously remembering the same thing, it was the lazier of them that ended up snapping them out of it with an observation.

"I could understand Akamaru spending time sniffing around my ankles; he's not much bigger than that after all, and as you might have noticed, he happens to be a dog." Then again, one could never be sure that Kiba wasn't just a much more manly dog as well, "Shouldn't you on the other hand be doing something else?"

"What?" An eyebrow jumped playfully, cracking a smirk back at Shika, "want me to lick 'em again? Jeez, you're such a perv…"

Shikamaru twitched.

"Kiba…" he warned, his voice getting that ominous low tone, given a physical edge as he hurled a nearby pillow at the Inuzuka's stupid grinning face. "Get the hell up here and just… just…"

Eyebrow perked again seductively, "Kiss you?"

"Shut up!" The Nara corrected, sighing again. He honestly didn't know whether he wanted to strangle the brunette or pin him down, straddle him and dig his teeth into that perfect neckline hard enough to mark him for months.

Thankfully the decision was made easier as Kiba, for a change, actually did what he was told and climbed up onto Shikamaru, laying flat down on top of him, arms folded over his chest and their faces barely apart. It wasn't until he wrapped his arms round Kiba's waist that stupid puppy-love grins lit back up full force.

"Just c'mere…" Shikamaru relented, pulling Kiba's face down to meet his. They did end up kissing, nothing too intense, just that romantic, fluffy kind of kissing, on the lips, on the cheeks, nibbling ears and… ngh, it was enough to make neither of them admit to it ever.

Curious hands soon found their way along his beltline, he momentarily felt the Inuzuka fondle him through the surprisingly tight fabric along his pants, but it turned out he had other ideas. His clawed fingernails played against sensitive flesh, and without an objection or even the time it would have taken to raise one, the Nara found his shirt forced up and discarded, soon met with Kiba's familiar mesh.

Skin met heated skin, sweat building, a primal look taking one over as the other breathed slowly to steady his heart rate. There was a warm sensation running over him, the two sharing their heat in a quickened rush. There was an unspoken connection.

He'd never moved as much as when he was with the canine-nin, somehow it gave him the energy, arching his back and digging his head further into the pillow, curving his neck in such a way that earned a trail of love bites down to his collar bone.

"Shiks…"

_That voice_, that feral under toning. It made Kiba sound like an animal and gods if that didn't ever turn the Nara on. The sheer unpredictable nature of it all; it was an escape from everything, it made him feel more alive.

The chunnin's stomach twisted as another gasp escaped, his face flushed and the stink of sex filling the air as the teasing continued. It was probably that smell that caused Kiba to latch his teeth around the nerve endings of his nipple, giving it a tender chew before swirling his tongue to the nub.

His breath sped, having to grasp the sheets for extra support as the playful Inuzuka helped himself to the other one as well.

"Gods Kiba, stop!" Shikamaru panted, a part of his brain already kicking the other parts for even thinking of saying that.

Kiba looked up cutely, a rare thing indeed for him, an eyebrow raised and the tip of the Nara's left nipple still held delicately between his teeth.

"Kiba… listen, just…" Troublesome breath, he did his best to catch it, "…take it easy, we've got all day! I… I can…"

It was met with a smirk. "You couldn't handle it."

"_Yes I could!_" Promptly coming to his own defence, making Kiba's smirk grow, "It's just, you're… troublesome." It was really the best he could say.

It was just another one of those things that was running through Shikamaru's mind, could have been due to the fact it'd been a while since they'd last played with each other, in any case he just had to hold Kiba back and… keep holding him for a while.

Asking wasn't exactly a common practice in their relationship, so the chunnin pulled his dog-nin up, wrapping his arms tight around him and nestling his head into that wild mane of brown spikes Kiba called hair that was now brushing under his chin.

"Just, cool it… it's early, I know how you get in the morning," Kiba, not saying a word, merely trained his eyes on the voice, his head resting down on the Nara's surprisingly firm pecs, "Let's just take it slow."

He heard a snort coming from his chest, the concept of taking anything slow obviously a mystery to his impulsive friend. Never the less, even he didn't seem to argue with a warm chest to lie on and a comfy bed to nap in, listening to Shikamaru's heartbeat, all the chunnin had to do was wait a good two minutes before he heard hushed snores and felt all the usual pent up energy in Kiba just melt away.

It really was occasionally that easy to get Kiba to do something, a lot of times though it wasn't. He slowly eased a hand off tanned Inuzuka skin to messily pull the blankets over the both of them, staring back up at the ceiling and rolling his eyes as he realised his chest was still tingling from moments before.

"What the heck am I going to do with you?" Bringing his hand back to pet at the sleeping lumps wild hair; not getting as much as a twitch in response.

"Why does it keep coming back to this?"

He simply wasn't sure. This was so unlike him, and not just because he was the one still wide awake on a day off while Kiba was the one fast asleep. Why did he keep ending up with him? Troublesome women like Ino always ranted about love and relationships, how it didn't have to make sense– obviously not if she was practically stalking Sasuke of all people –but he wasn't Ino, and his smarts, his brain kept on trying to wrap itself round this.

Shikamaru was a strategist; he looked at things like a game of shōugi, where the strengths were, potential weaknesses, how the pieces fit, how he could win and ways he could lose. It'd been eating at him since this started, he'd never met something as difficult to understand as this. It was starting to present a risk, something he couldn't account for, and a lot was at stake for them.

He took a deep breath, feeling the added weight all the more, lightly tapping his finger down on Kiba as he lost himself deeper in thought.

This was going to be a problem.


	4. Awkward Silences

All right guys, chapter four's finally done. I've still got no idea what to write here; we're back to good ol' Inuzuka point of view this time… oh, and Akamaru's been going crazy today, I think he's sick of being cooped up inside. Eh, anyway, I'll just reply to some reviews, that'll be fun.

NaruKiba Lover: Thanks so much bud, I'm glad you like it, and bonus thanks for saying I write Shika well, I know someone who'll defiantly get a kick out of that. By the way, I've read some of your stories before; I think the last one I remember was 'Forgive Me', heh- dude, making blondie the seme? I'd so be in charge of Naru; Inuzuka's are born alpha-males.

Earthbender068: My first reviewer! Thanks for the support; it was so great to read what you had to say. I couldn't believe you picked up on that orange juice scene, that blew me away, here I thought I was being subtle for a change and you nailed it, way to go! Glad you liked the meeting too, what can I say, Inuzuka's have strong noses. I pounced onto your profile and checked out an old story of yours called 'Shadow Confession'. Heh, shadow hand-puppets? Defiantly made me grin!

CasterNox: Yo Shadow! I bet when you read this an offline message will bounce into existence on my screen, least it better or y'know… I'll have to bite you.

With all that said and done, enjoy!

All characters included therein belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

**--**

Everything was quiet.

Most Inuzuka's, most Inuzuka's who weren't asleep that is, would have probably picked up on the silence as a telltale sign that something was about to go down. Their clan had learned long ago to never trust the quiet, it probably explained why every last one of them was a shamelessly loud, short tempered bundle of untamed energy. They liked the sounds of the wolves howling, the constant laughs, cheers and barks; when things went quiet, you knew that trouble was soon to follow.

But as it happened, Kiba, a small line of drool escaping the side of his lip, was still nestled into Shikamaru's chest, affectionately chewing on some skin as he cuddled up closer. He was perfectly content, quiet or not.

And then…

"_Wake up!" _

Eyes shot open, his and Shikamaru's, the former wondering what the hell was going on while the latter promptly separated the two of them in a criminally sudden jerk, springing up off the bed and skidding to his feet, leaving a very perplexed, and now very upside-down, Kiba to stare blankly at him like he was some kind of madman.

"_Kiba, quick," _Still not giving the canine-nin time to get a word in, Shikamaru raced back over, righted the dumbstruck Kiba, and grabbed him by the shoulders. _"You've got to run, quick! The window, c'mon hurry!"_

The desperate edge to the chunnin's voice came hand in hand with shaking him at every word, that is right until Kiba roughly shoved the Nara off him with a growl, instinctively baring his fangs,

"What the hell Shika! I was sleeping, why do I have to go? You sai–…"

Then he heard it, pausing his rant momentarily and focusing his senses. Kiba blinked; gaze soon fastened to the Nara's bedroom door. It was outside, end of the corridor, down the stairs. Footsteps, one… no two, there was two people; one had a gruff voice, male, he muttered something to the other …'troublesome'?

Kiba's eyes went wide.

"They're back, my _parents_." The chunnin confirmed, "You've got to go _now_!" Panicked, Shikamaru's finger trained itself on the nearby window, practically commanding the Inuzuka make use of it as soon as possible.

It was all just a flash from then, Kiba looked back at Shikamaru with pleading eyes but it was merely met with a look of worry and alarm, he just couldn't argue with it. So he ran, leaping down from the bed and down to the cold floor, shooting through the open window like a bullet. You couldn't fault an Inuzuka for being slow, though he certainly didn't think things through. The point made only too obvious as he came to a landing a couple of blocks away to realise he had on nothing but a pair of boxers.

He couldn't even remember taking his pants off!

The dog-nin grunted, falling down on his butt and perching crouched in an awfully canine way, eying the house he'd basically sling-shotted from. Still puzzled, his head tipping to one side, he just continued to survey the place, his mind coming to life with questions. Weren't Shika's parents meant to be out? How'd this all happen so fast? The brunette cringed slightly when he remembered that look he'd received just before he'd made a break for it. What was Shika so afraid of?

"Arf!"

A floppy ear fell over the dogs face as he touched down, it wasn't often he saw his master with that clueless expression. The little dog was almost certain however that it was probably something to do with how he'd just seconds ago had to bolt his way from his comfy, curled up position on the sofa at the sound of the front door unlocking.

"Akamaru," the dog wagged his tail as Kiba acknowledged him, "Hey there boy, you managed to get out quick too huh…"

For a moment, Kiba almost wished his friend had stayed hidden so he could report back and tell him what was going on in there. To be fair though, it was probably for the best that he didn't. What if someone had spotted the white lump of fur poking out from under a cushion? Akamaru usually picked the worst hidi–

"Arf?" Tipping his nose into Kiba's shin, enough to get a rise out of the boy, the two looking back at each other again, at least until the Inuzuka remembered how to talk.

He brushed a finger under his nose and flashed one of his trademark smiles, "Ah, sorry buddy, I'm getting lost in thought aren't I?" The dog whined, pawing at Kiba's leg. "Heh, yeah you're right…let's get back home."

--

_SLAM!_

"What the _hell_ Kiba! How many times do I have to tell you not to slam the–…" Lingering on the edge of that sentence, stepping fully into the room at the sight of her brother walking past in his skivvies.

Not exactly a rare sight for him, but odd at least that he was coming home this early like that.

"…and what have you been up to?" Hana smirked, folding her arms.

"Sleeping with Shika," Bare feet padded along the carpet as he crossed right by her, making his way towards the stairs, not so much as flinching at the stare he just knew was getting drilled into the back of his head.

The girls lip twitched, "You're sleeping with him now huh? Is he any good?"

Modesty was a foreign concept in the Inuzuka household.

Kiba growled. It wouldn't be easy to get Hana of his back once she started going, the last thing he needed was her prying for details all afternoon. His head languidly rolled back, making a full U-turn and folding his arms just as challengingly over his chest as she had hers.

"I meant sleeping-sleeping; the sex is still in the works." Offering her a scrap and hoping that would be enough.

It wasn't.

"See, I must've been confused then," She quirked an eyebrow, stating the obvious with deadly accuracy, "It's just when you come home looking like that, it usually means another unlucky someone's just become a notch on your bedpost."

He scrunched his nose up, toes clenched and an added snarl to his voice, "Shika's different."

"How so?"

"He just is!" He barked back, "So leave it!"

Her head leant down to one side, a common Inuzuka habit. "Well, I think it's adorable." She smiled deviously, knowing full how much he loved being called 'adorable'.

"Nee-Chan…" Kiba warned.

"Alright, alright!" Throwing her hands up in front of her in mock surrender, taking a step back and withdrawing from any challenging stances or body language, "Make sure to get your clothes back from the Nara kid later though alright?" About to leave it at that, she found she just couldn't help herself "…why was it again that you're back so early and half naked?"

By this point though, she was questioning Kiba's back, the brunette rolling his eyes and making his way swiftly up the stairs to his room. He didn't have the time or the patience to pander to Hana's insatiable curiosity all day.

Grunting as she heard Kiba slam yet another door upstairs, really, couldn't he walk anywhere without making a racket? Suddenly her nose twitched. Something was missing…

"Hold it."

Akamaru froze in place, so close to having made his second clean get away that morning. Time crawled to a halt and the two of them met each other's line of sight. The tension in the air was enough to spike the fur along the back of his neck.

"So… what's up his butt today?" Hana smirked, well aware of the pun.

A brief staring contest followed, Akamaru doing his best to look like hadn't the faintest clue what she was talking about. Fortunately for him, she made the mistake of blinking as they reached the sixty second mark, the dog being long gone by the time her eyes opened again.

"Tsk, of course." Should have seen that coming, "I swear there's more to this then they're saying. What're they up to now…"

Muttering to herself as she made her way back to the lounge. She had a hungry pack of dogs to feed and had already wasted enough time on this today. If they wanted to play it like that then fine, Kiba would spill the beans eventually. He always did.

--

He'd been staring for the better part of the last half hour, trying to work up the nerve to actually make his move. How embarrassing, he was going to be the Hokage someday and he couldn't even face up to one of his friends– one of his scarier, manic and probably more dangerous friends –but still his friend. Naruto gritted his teeth, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Think you're so tough with your claws, and your nose... and your claws… " He snorted at the open air in front of him. He was on a rooftop close to a mile away from the Inuzuka compound and preying that'd be enough to not betray his location to one or more of Kiba's ridiculous senses.

Ever since that episode earlier at the ramen stand, the blonde's curiosity had shot into overdrive. He'd been going over it again and again for most of the morning and he'd finally determined that he defiantly saw what he saw. Kiba had snatched up Shikamaru's hand, and not just that, he'd bumped shoulders as he did it. Being the genius that he was, with some more thought dedicated to it, Naruto had finally deduced that they must seeing each other.

Shikamaru brushed it off though, so maybe…

"No." Slamming his fist down into his palm, blocking that that train of thought from leaving the station "they're defiantly acting like more than friends, but…"

What exactly was he supposed to do with this information? Blackmail had sprung to mind initially, along with an evil smirk, cept' no one would believe it though; he could barely believe it himself! Then if he said anything to Kiba, he knew it wasn't going to be pretty, this was the same guy who'd left him hogtied in a closet all day once for talking to him during a movie.

"So what am I going to do-attebayo…" He could leave it, but- Kiba and… they were…

"Ragh! I gotta' know!" As determined as he sounded, a chill ran up his spine the moment he took one step closer towards that foreboding household.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Maybe I'll talk to Shikamaru instead…"

"About what?"

"Kiba. Wait…"

Since when was he talking to someone?

"I don't know why you'd want to talk to him about Kiba" Ino replied, hands on her hips and giving Naruto her general level of aversion. She didn't have time for his weirdness today, "but you better tell me where he is, _right now_! He was supposed to meet up with us today and didn't show up. Again."

A more disappointed looking Chouji stood beside her, trying his best to calm his teammate down some before she caused another fight. A lot of good it ended up doing.

Standing his ground, "Who says I'd tell you!" The kitsune jabbed a finger in her direction, along with a sneer. "If I was on your team, I'd be hiding too!"

There was a white hot flash of anger and before long, Naruto was instead addressing Chouji, the one thing standing in between him and the fiery death that roared just behind him, spitting all manner of curses and threats over his shoulders.

"I'm sorry Naruto," Soothing the situation with a smile, doing his best to talk to him and hold back Ino simultaneously. "We got up today to get an early meal at our favourite barbeque place," Chouji actually looked dreamy eyed as he said that, food on the mind, "Shikamaru usually always meets us there when our team gets a day off, and you know what he's like about changing his schedule…"

It was true, Shikamaru didn't like change, probably too troublesome to always remember new routines, it wasn't exactly a secret. Looks like he was right, naturally, Shikamaru had actually broken his schedule to spend time with Kiba.

"This is the fifth time he's done it lately, so have you seen him?"

Oh, shit.

The blonde practically erupted into fit of laughter, waving his hands up in front of his face. Smooth performance there Naruto. "You kidding? Why would I have seen him? I… just got up, I was… visiting Sakura, yeah. I mean he's… probably, watching clouds… right?"

… "Right?"

The two stayed silent, Ino peering over Chouji's shoulder and having to place a hand over her mouth to prevent a giggle. Did that idiot ever actually put any thought into what he said at all?

"Right, Naruto. Spill it, where is he?"

Not doing anything with Kiba? No, think harder, be vague, "uh…" c',mon she's looking…

Naruto wrestled with his brain some more before coming out with the most simple fall back he could manage, "at… his house?"

"He wasn't there earlier." Chouji retorted, he too questioning what had Naruto so wound up, well, more so than usual at least.

'_Don't say he was out with Kiba. Don't say he was out with Kiba.'_

"He was out with… his father?" Nice save.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Shikamaru's parents are away." From the looks of things the girl was fast becoming infuriated with the blondes flip flopping story, and Chouji looked too befuddled to interject this time if she rushed him.

Suddenly Naruto's face lit up, hitting his fist down into his palm at the revelation, "Oh yeah, I remember now." He lied, "I did see him in the market earlier, he said he had to get a few things and was on his way back home, I bet if you run fast enough you can catch him."

'_Please, please, please, please, please, please…'_

"…Tsk, Naruto, you really expect us to believe that?" Ino shook her head, punching her own fist into her palm but for a much different reason than the other blonde just had.

"Ino, it's worth a try! You know Shikamaru, maybe he fell asleep doing his chores."

It took a while, but she eventually relented. After fast regaining her self control, she save Naruto a parting smile that spoke wonders about what she'd do to him if this story was bogus, "Take care now Naruto."

He scowled in response.

Chouji just ushered her away, waving to his friend as the two of them leapt up and out of view. He was finally alone again, taking a sigh of relief and falling back flat on his back. This was turning out to be way more trouble than it was worth. Any doubts he might have had ten minutes ago were long gone, curling back up to land on his feet. He took one more look at the Inuzuka compound, nodding his head down solemnly and speeding strait towards it.

Neither Kiba nor Shikamaru had any idea of the twin calamities heading straight for them.


End file.
